Curran eager to begin

Sheriff-elect knows he has a lot to learn

November 09, 2006|By Dave Wischnowsky, Tribune staff reporter

Throughout the contentious race for Lake County sheriff, Republican incumbent and career police officer Gary Del Re often criticized Democratic challenger Mark Curran for his lack of law-enforcement experience.

On Wednesday, the day after his victory, Curran acknowledged that he has never worn a badge but said he has a gun permit and noted that eight years' experience as a prosecutor under former Illinois Atty. Gen. Jim Ryan helped prepare him for the job.

"I have not served as a police officer. ... But I'm going to find top-notch people to rely on," he said. "I'm not ashamed or embarrassed to say that. Otherwise, that would be arrogant. And arrogance is not something you're going to see from this administration."

To that end, Curran has named Charles Fagan, a former chief of police in Antioch who has more than 27 years' experience with the Sheriff's Department, as his undersheriff.

Curran, 43, who is from Libertyville and the father of three young boys, ousted Del Re on Tuesday by 20,000 votes after a campaign in which he focused on a recently concluded investigation into the management of Del Re's 400-employee office.

The probe, launched by the Illinois attorney general after a recently fired deputy accused the sheriff and jail staff of criminal wrongdoing, led to the indictment of two top jail officials in an alleged pension-fraud scheme. It also raised questions about purchases made with county-issued credit cards, leading to the resignation of Del Re's undersheriff.

And the investigators said they found poor management of the sheriff's $50 million annual budget.

Pete Couvall of the Lake County Democratic Party said he thinks Curran is the right man to restore public confidence in the office.

"He has such high integrity," said Couvall, who helped recruit Curran to run. "He's a very religious man. And his ability to administrate is a huge strength. Because, breaking it down, the sheriff's office is basically an administrative position."

He noted that Curran taught classes in criminal justice and law at Columbia College in Park City and at the Northwest Metropolitan Regional Training Center in Park Ridge, where police officers are trained.

"He has a lot of experience teaching police officers how to avoid lawsuits and how to make proper arrests," Couvall said.

In December, Curran will be sworn into the $128,000-per-year sheriff's position. He said he doesn't plan to make any snap decisions regarding the department.

"You don't come in Day 1 and make changes willy-nilly," he said. "We're going to get as much data as we can so that any changes we do make are the right ones.

"I'm also not beyond criticism. My office is always open, and I want people to know that if they have problems, they can come to me."

He has already begun getting advice, including from his 9-year-old son.

On Tuesday night, while Curran was sitting with friends and family in a Highwood restaurant awaiting election results, Mark III strolled up to his dad and gave him a pep talk pulled from personal experience: He recently lost his bid for secretary of his 4th-grade class at Aspen Elementary School in Vernon Hills.

"He told me, `Dad, no matter what happens, you're a winner just for trying,'" Curran said Wednesday.

Mark III, who was present when his father told the story, boiled Curran's qualifications down to this: